Ghosttowns in the Hills of Italy and Tourism

I’m referring not to the haunting of the hills but the abandonment of villages.

Empty buildings. Why? They have the food they need. The homes are beautiful. Why would they leave? I expect that these typically family-centric communities of 5+ houses become nonviable as the younger generation moves away and the older one dies. Driving around, we passed two of these housing clusters that were empty and another that was at half its potential occupancy.

Another challenge evident exists in housing prices. According to one local, after the release of the book Under the Tuscan Sun and then the movie, prices of Tuscan villas shot sky high. It makes me wonder if those detritus filled decaying homes might be bought and inhabited if the locals weren’t priced out. I wonder if this same effect happened after the release of the book Eat, Pray, Love in the countries it referred to.